Rev up the engine of development, UN urges world

UN chief Antonio Guterres urged the world to "rev up the engine of development" at an aid conference on Monday as US-led cuts jeopardise the fight against poverty and climate change.

- 

Dozens of world leaders and more than 4,000 representatives from businesses, civil society and financial institutions are in the Spanish city of Seville for the June 30-July 3 meeting to seek fresh impetus for the crisis-hit sector.

But the United States is snubbing the biggest aid talks in a decade, underlining the erosion of international cooperation on combating hunger, disease and climate change.

Guterres told the opening of the conference that two-thirds of UN sustainable development goals set for 2030 were “lagging” and more than $4 trillion of annual investment were needed to achieve them.